Wick structure for wax lights and the like



Sept. 18, 1934.

F. P. ATKINS WICK STRUCTURE FOR WAX LIGHTS AND THE LIKE Filed April 15,1931 WWW ATTORNEG Patented Sept. 18, 1934 Urrso stars 1 Claims.

My invention relates primarily to the manufacture of wicks for lightssuch as votive lights, night lights and the like, wherein a vessel isprovided which contains the wax or combustible material,

5 and a wick is provided to produce and control the desired flame; butmy invention is not restricted to this type of light. It has beenappreciated that in such lights particularly, a self-sustaining wick ishighly desirable. It is not unusual to support the wick by a smallmetallic stand, or the like, in the bottom of the vessel; but thiscannot serve to support the wick throughout its length for the reasonthat, if extended, it would interfere with the flow of wax, or othercombustible, to and through the wick, and also because it would not beexpended as the supply of wax is lowered, and as the wick burns away.The heat developed by the burning of the light is usually sufficient tomelt a very considerable portion of the wax surrounding the wick. Thistakes away the support of the wick, and if it is not self-sustaining, ittends to fall over in the vessel, and in some instances to becomesubmerged, whereby the light is put out.

p In my Patent No. 1,496,837, I have described and claimed a wicking ofself-sustaining character containing as a core, an expendable metallicwire. This wick has proved entirely satisfactory, burning down with thewax in the light, and sustainmg itself perfectly throughout the lengthof life of the device.

The primary object of my present invention is to provide a new type ofself-sustaining wick, which has a number of important advantages ineconomy of manufacture and the like, and is adequate and satisfactory inuse.

These and other objects of my invention which will become more fullyapparent hereinafter, I accomplish by that certain construction andarrangement of parts and by that process of which I shall describeexemplary embodiments.

The drawing shows, partly in section, a piece of wicking which isexemplary of an embodiment of my invention, but which is not limitingthereon.

Briefly, in the practice of my invention, I have ound that instead ofusing metallic wire or the like, I treat a portion of the structure ofthe wick itself by means, which serve the end desired. Morespecifically, I combine with a braided, 50, woven, or other wick, a coreof one or more strands of material so treated, as will hereinafter bemore fully set forth.

It will be understood that a wick to be satisfactory for the usesdescribed, must have its ca- 5 pacity for capillary absorption of themelted wax unimpaired. It must be stiff enough tobe self-sustaining; butit must be expendable as the wax burns away, since otherwise it wouldnot control the flame adequately. It would be possible to take apre-formed wick and dip it in or an otherwise impregnate it in with astiffening agent, and thereby produce a wick which would both beself-sustaining and expendable; but it would not bean adequate wick forthe reason that the stiffening agent would tend in greater or lessmeasure to seal the pores of the wick, and to inhibit the necessarycapillary action. Consequently, it is highly desirable to confine thestiffening agent to particular strands of which the wick is composed,whereby the porosity of the 70 Wick may be maintained; but it is notnecessary separately to impregnate each strand, and it is not ordinarilydesirable, since the strands themselves are preferably somewhat porous.In prac-' tice, I have achieved excellent results with one or morestrands of stiffened material, which may be employed as a core or as oneor more of the filaments making up the interwoven structure of the wickitself. Where hollow braided wicks are being made, it is advantageous toemploy the 30 stiffened filament as a core, but this is not a limitationupon my invention, nor is the particular way in which the wicking isbraided, plaited, or woven. In any event, however, where the continuousproduction of wicking is contemplated, 35 it is highly desirable thatthe stifiened strand or strands be made in a continuous manner, so thatthe completed structure may be produced in pieces of indefinite lengthto be cut apart and used as desired.

In the figure I have shown a candle wicking formed upon a braidingmachine, and comprising strands of ordinary cotton or other suitabletextile fibers 1, and a core 2 of textile material treated so as torender it stiff, but expendable.

For the purposes hereinabove described, I have found cellulosicstiffening agents to be preferable, and of these the most available foruse are collodion, nitro-cellulose, cellulose acetate, and any of theseveral cellulose esters, although other cel- 10o lulosic material willalso be found serviceable.

In general, organic substances of relatively stiff 7 nature, susceptibleof being handled by means of a solvent orotherwise, are suitable. Iavoid thermoplastic substances which would lose their stiffness underconditions of use; but apparently a degree of softening under heating isnot disadvantageous in my product. A number of synthetic resins may alsobe employed.

In practice, I take a strand of desired thickness 11o and comprisingtextile material of a desired character, and run it through a bath ofthe stiifening agent, containing sufiicient solvent to produce a liquidor semi-liquid consistency. The strand absorbs more or less of thesubstance and becomes coated therewith. The extent of the residentcoating thereon may be controlled by doctors, or the like, or by runningthe strand through a perforatedmember, which removes from its surfaceany excess of the material. When the strand is dried, it will be foundto be stiffened by the process, and then may be used either as one ofthe strands in a braiding, plaiting, or the like process, or as the corein a hollow braid or weave.

fibers, such as linen fibers having inherent stiifness, may be employedusefully to increase the overall stiffness of the product.

Flame retardants may also be used in my Wick, if desired, and any or allof the strands may be treated with substances to retard combustion,either before or after treatingwith the stiffening agent.

5, In-some instances inorganic materials may also be employed, such assilicate of soda; but my investigations have indicated that these areapparently not complete equivalents for cellulosic stifiening agents,because either they do not produce gq an adequate stiffening alone, orthey tend to produce a wick which is not adequately expendable in use.

The employment of cellulosic derivatives I have found to be mostadvantageous; but it is also pos- ;;sible to produce a stiif fiber,core, or strand, by

taking a core or str-and of' textile fibers and paror other fibers andconvertthem partially into cellulosic derivatives, Without destroyingthe char- C0nsiderations of economy will ordinarily govern the selectionof fiber for the stiffened strand. Some acter of the treated material asa strand or core, fibrous in its nature. For example, by an alkalinetreatment carried short of the point at which the fibers completely losetheir identity, followed by an acid treatment, it is possible to producea relatively stifi strand, which will lend a selfsustaining character toa wicking.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:-

1. A process of making wicking which comprises treating a substantiallength of a strand of textile fiber to convert at least a part of .itssubstance into a cellulosic derivative as a stiffening agent therefor,permitting said agent to harden in' the strand, and incorporating saidstrand with unstiffened textile strands to form a wick with said strandas the sole stifiening means therefor.

2. A wick comprising related strands of textile material, a substantiallength of one at leastof which is impregnated-with a cellulosicderivative cellulosic derivative as a stiifening agent, permit- 4. A.process of producing awicking which comprises passing a substantiallength of a' strand of textile fiber through a bath of cellulosederivative dissolved in a solvent, permitting said solvent to evaporatefrom said strand so that the cellulose derivative forms a stiffeningagent for'the strand, and incorporating said strand with strands ofunstiffened textile fiber to forma-wick structure of which said strandis the sole stifiening means;

FRANKP. ATKINS.

